12KBW is delighted to note that Steven Snowden QC has been elected Chair of PIBA (the Personal Injuries Bar Association) for the next two years with effect from 6th April 2020.
PIBA is the independent Specialist Bar Association which represents all those barristers who practice in the area of personal injury, whether claimant or defendant, and it presently has 1,600 or so members.
Its role is to represent the views of the PI Bar, to educate and train its members and to provide a forum for discussion, running a highly-respected continuing education programme throughout the year, a high-profile annual lecture and an annual residential weekend conference. Its website is www.piba.org.uk
In previous years PIBA’s most obvious public-facing role has been to respond on behalf of all PI barristers to proposals for reform emanating from the Ministry of Justice, HMCTS, the Civil Procedure Rules Committee, the Civil Justice Council, the Law Commission and many others. PIBA has also intervened as a neutral party in litigation on points of significant impact for PI law and practice.
That will continue, but Steven takes over the reins of PIBA at a time of huge uncertainty with the Covid-19 lockdown having a dramatic effect on hearings, trials and the way we all prepare and conduct our cases. He will lead PIBA’s ongoing response to this, recognising that it will not be possible to have some complex full trials heard justly and fairly by remote means, but devising means and lobbying for other aspects of our work (ongoing paperwork and conferences, interlocutory hearings, JSMs, Stage 3 hearing, some Fast Track trials, etc) to continue but adapted to remote working, telephone and video conferencing.
Steven remains in full-time practice in Chambers while undertaking his PIBA role
